Hello again everyone! I’m really excited to talk about the newest gameplay footage that was released by Square Enix on January the 30th. In the newest video we get to see Noctis and the gang infiltrate a Niflheim base that ends with a fight against the “Dragoon Lady” Aranea Highwind. To watch the official Niflheim base video click here.

Now just to make a quick clarification Niflheim has been noted as the primary enemy that you’ll be facing off against in Final Fantasy 15. This isn’t to say that we’ll have no interactions with the other nations, but that Niflheim will be the force that will be driving the majority of the games events. With that lets break this video down a bit.

COMBAT:

First of all I want to say how excited I am for the new combat system of Final Fantasy 15. Unlike all the previous Final Fantasy games that I’ve had the privilege of playing this is the only game that I’ve seen that has free flowing combat.  Finally I can enjoy a Final Fantasy game that doesn’t follow the tradition turn based combat system (YES!!).

The other part of combat that I am very excited for is how your teammates can combo your attacks together and vice versa. In the video we see Ignis shoot a soldier in a quick camera shot that opens up a combo attack for Noctis to join in on. The Magic system in Final Fantasy 15 was also modified from what we’ve seen previously. The three types of magic in the game are Fire,Thunder, and Blizzard. We now know that these magic attacks can be used to devastating effectiveness based on the environment. I.E. oil being set a flame, thunder attacks dealing more damage in the rain, and water freezing after a blizzard attack.

CHARACTER:

The second part of the video that I want to talk about is the re-reveal of Aranea Highwind or the “Dragoon Lady” as fans    have been calling her. From Square Enix’s official description we know her as the captain of the Niflheim Empire’s Third Army Corps 86th Airborne Unit. What I’m hoping for is some kind of continuing rivalry between the “Dragoon Lady” and Noctis. In other words I’m hoping that we get to fight a character that will be highly developed and acts as a combative face for the Niflheim forces during the course of the game.

WISHES:

Now that we have spent some time talking about the newly released information; I have some personal hopes for the game before the anticipated day of release.

The biggest wish I have for this game is to get a huge collection of amazing summons like the ones that we’ve seen so far. Now I can’t really see them allowing us to use the Leviathan in this game based on just how powerful and destructive it is; not to mention how bloody massive it is (see here for video on Summons).

My other wish is to get a truly massive story that doesn’t get boring or dull to the point where I start to lose interest in the game. However, with the long standing record of great stories that Square Enix has provided I doubt I’ll have to worry too much about that.

For more Information about the new features released as well as other news on Final Fantasy 15 visit Nova Crystallis. In addition we also learned that the next event Square Enix has planned, titled Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV,  will be giving us the official release date for the finish game and will take place on March 30 at 7PM PST at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. Next week, having played in the closed beta, I’ll go over some wishes that I have for Tom Clancy’s the Division.